The main road running through Victory with the post office on the left and the large (now defunct) factory/mill Saratoga Victory Manufacturing Company on the right in the Village of Victory Thursday Nov. 29, 2012 in Victory, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union archive)

VICTORY — In the coming months, village residents will face a quintessential philosophic conundrum: What, exactly, is the point of existence?

On Wednesday evening, villagers gathered for a presentation and public hearing on what might happen if the village became a hamlet within the Town of Saratoga, rather than remain a separate, incorporated entity.

Tension in the village gathering spot they call "town hall" was evident. Some in the 605-resident community questioned the validity and financial costs of an extra layer of government. Others wondered how great the cost savings of a dissolution would really be, and what might be the cost to quality of life.

"It just won't be the same," said Agatha White, 77, a lifelong Victory resident. She cited concerns that quality of services like plowing and garbage removal would decline without a village government.

Victory, a 160-year-old village whose name pays tribute to Patriots' triumph in the 1777 Battles of Saratoga, would see significant tax and budget savings by dissolving. The community would also likely receive a major tax credit, offered by the state as incentive for communities to consolidate.

"There are so many (duplicate) services and over time those service costs have gone up. Now that times are tough, it's time to consolidate," said Mayor James Sullivan, who ousted the former mayor by running on a dissolution platform.

The village was granted a state Local Government Efficiency Grant to conduct a study and develop a plan over the past 18 months for its potential dissolution.

Preliminary studies into a dissolution have found that such a move would mean significant cost savings for the village, streamlining the process of government by abolishing an extra layer.

At present, many public services within the village are already performed by either the town or Saratoga County. The most significant changes under a dissolution would be to the Fire Department and Department of Public Works, which currently fall under the authority of the village. If dissolution is successful, village residents would have to privately pay for their refuse collection and brush pickup, a service the town does not provide.

The study estimates a drastic decrease in taxes for village residents — a drop of at least 62 percent from $10.91 per $1,000 of assessed value to $4.16.

Taxes for town residents would increase slightly, thought not if the town received the state tax credit incentive.

The dissolution would also include a one-time transition cost, paid for by the village, of between $50,000 and $80,000 to foot the bill for things like legal fees and employee vacation time for any village staff let go in the process.

"Government sometimes seems like a $20 saddle on a $2 horse," said Mike Perry, 59, a lifelong village resident. "I'm not as much for dissolution as I am for a reasonable government. It's simply a practical issue."

Last year, Schuylerville, which is also located within the town of Saratoga, overwhelmingly voted against a dissolution plan.

Residents will have one last chance to weigh in on the study before the dissolution committee prior to its presentation to the Board of Trustees on Dec. 27. A public vote on the finalized dissolution plan is slated for March 19.